Does a Louisiana sales-tax filing extension also prevent late-payment penalties and preserve vendor compensation?

Plain-English summary

A sales-tax filer that filed the return and paid the full tax by an approved extension deadline should not have faced a late-payment penalty or lost the vendor-compensation discount. Interest still accrued from the original due date until the tax was paid.

Why the payment deadline moved

La. R.S. 47:1514 authorized the Department to extend the time to file a sales-tax return and pay the amount due after a written taxpayer request. Although La. R.S. 47:306(A)(4) referred to a 30-day return-filing extension for good cause, La. R.S. 47:306(A)(1)(a) required payment when the return was filed.

The Department therefore treated the filing extension as also extending the associated payment deadline. The tax did not become delinquent until that extended period expired.

Penalty, discount, and interest consequences

A payment received by the extension deadline was timely and was not subject to the late-payment penalty in La. R.S. 47:1602(A).

Dealers could retain their compensation for accounting for and remitting sales tax when both the return and payment were timely under the extension. The same timing principle applied to the discount for manufacturers, wholesalers, jobbers, and suppliers collecting advance sales tax.

The extension did not stop interest. Interest remained due from the return's original due date through the payment date.

Common questions

Q: Was filing the return by the extended date enough to preserve vendor compensation?

A: No. The ruling required both filing and full payment by the extension deadline.

Q: Did payment by the extended date trigger a late-payment penalty?

A: No. The Department treated that payment as timely.

Q: Did the extension eliminate interest?

A: No. Interest accrued from the original due date until payment.

Q: Could the Department grant the extension without a taxpayer request?

A: The ruling described the extension authority as applying upon the taxpayer's written request and also cited the 30-day good-cause provision.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 47:1514 — Department authority to extend filing and payment time
• La. R.S. 47:306(A)(1)(a) and 47:306(A)(4) — payment with return and 30-day good-cause extension
• La. R.S. 47:1602(A) — late-payment penalty
• La. R.S. 47:306(A)(3)(a)(i) — dealer vendor compensation
• La. R.S. 47:306(B)(4)(a) — advance-sales-tax collection discount
• LAC 61:III.101(C) — Revenue Ruling authority and reliance statement

Source

• Landing page: Louisiana Department of Revenue Policies
• Original PDF: LA Revenue Ruling 01-004

Original ruling text

Revenue Ruling
No. 01-004
February 5, 2002

Assessment of Penalties and Loss of Vendor’s Compensation on Sales Tax Returns with
Extensions
This Revenue Ruling addresses the assessment of late payment penalties and loss of vendor’s
compensation on sales tax returns with extensions.
Under the administrative provisions of R.S. 47:1514, the Department of Revenue is granted the
power to extend the time within which to allow a taxpayer to file sales tax returns and to pay the amount due,
upon the written request of the taxpayer for an extension. It also provides that the tax does not become
delinquent until the expiration of the extension period even though interest will accrue on the tax during the
period of the extension. In addition, the provisions of R.S. 47:306(A)(4) allow a sales tax filer to be granted
a thirty-day extension for filing a return if he can show good cause for the extension. The sales tax provision
R.S. 47:306(A)(1)(a) requires a filer to remit the tax due at the time the sales tax return is filed. Although
R.S. 47:306(A)(4) refers only to an extension for the filing of a return, the language in R.S. 47:306(A)(1)(a)
makes it clear that the payment is due at the time the return is filed. Therefore, an extension granted for the
filing of a return also applies to the associated payment.
Title 47 Section 1602(A) of the Louisiana Revised Statutes imposes a penalty upon a taxpayer who
fails to timely remit the total amount of tax that is due on a return that he has filed. A sales tax return filed by
a taxpayer who has received an extension is not considered delinquent until the period of time granted in the
extension has expired. A payment received by the extension deadline is considered timely paid and therefore
not subject to late payment penalty.
The provisions of R.S. 47:306(A)(3)(a)(i) allow dealers a discount as a means of compensation for
accounting for and remitting the amount of sales tax owed. Manufacturers, wholesalers, jobbers, and
suppliers are allowed a discount as compensation for collecting advance sales taxes if the report and payment
are timely filed under the provisions of R.S. 47:306(B)(4)(a). Therefore, the vendor’s compensation will be
lost if the return is not filed or the tax is not paid within the extension deadline. A return or payment received
by the extension deadline is considered timely filed or timely paid.
Based on the above cited statutes, it is the position of the Louisiana Department of Revenue that
sales tax filers who have filed and paid the total tax due within the extension period should not be assessed a
late payment penalty nor lose their vendor’s compensation discount. Interest, however, is due from the
original due date until the date the tax is paid.
Cynthia Bridges
Secretary
By:

Shanda J. McClain
Attorney
Policy Services Division

A Revenue Ruling is written to provide guidance to the public and to Department of Revenue employees. It is
issued under Section 61:III.101(C) of the Louisiana Administrative Code to apply principles of law to a specific
set of facts. A Revenue Ruling does not have the force and effect of law and is not binding on the public. It is a
statement of the department's position and is binding on the department until superseded or modified by a
subsequent change in statute, regulation, declaratory ruling, or court decision.